DeMint, Lee Bill Would End Corporate Welfare for Energy Companies in Tax Code

"U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the Energy Freedom & Economic Prosperity Act (EFEPA) to repeal all energy specific tax credits. The legislation is revenue neutral as it also requires a corresponding reduction in the corporate tax rate. U.S. Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) has previously introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives."

"The State of Alaska and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management both held Alaska oil and gas lease sales Dec. 7 in Anchorage, with apparent high bids of $24,606,947 from a combination of new entrants and established players.

BLM’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska sale, the smallest of the sales, had 20 bids on 17 tracts by three bidders, for a total of apparent...

"Today, Secretary Chu announced that the Energy Department is funding 16 projects that will make hydropower production even more efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly. These research projects will help advance hydropower technologies – providing clean power to Americans while creating jobs. Hydropower technologies capture water's potential energy via a turbine to generate...

The process involves drilling a deep well a mile or more underground. After reaching a layer of rock that contains natural gas, the drill then turns horizontally to snake its way thousands of feet farther through that...

"Early on a spring morning in the town of Damascus, in northeastern Pennsylvania, the fog on the Delaware River rises to form a mist that hangs above the tree-covered hills on either side. A buzzard swoops in from the northern hills to join a flock ensconced in an evergreen on the river’s southern bank.

Stretching some 400 miles, the Delaware is one of the cleanest free-flowing rivers...

According to Robert Bradley, "Energy is the master resource. Without it, other resources could not be produced or consumed." Bradley uses this piece to discuss government intervention in energy production while encouraging free market solutions to energy policy. He concludes by declaring the following:

"In the U.S. energy sector, market reliance has produced economic coordination,...

"Halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on a former cattle ranch and gypsum mine, NRG Energy is building an engineering marvel: a compound of nearly a million solar panels that will produce enough electricity to power about 100,000 homes.

The project is also a marvel in another, less obvious way: Taxpayers and ratepayers are providing subsidies worth almost as much as the entire...

"The Obama administration on Wednesday announced long-awaited air pollution rules for the controversial natural gas drilling technique known as fracking, but surprised environmentalists by saying the rules would not be immediately enforced but instead phased in over more than two years.

'Pleased' with the rules but 'disappointed' by the delay was how the Natural Resources Defense...

"Our nation needs to enhance energy security and environmental security. With strong leadership, the United States can adopt policies that accomplish both goals.

Since the 1973–74 energy crisis, the United States has taken many steps to improve energy security. Technological progress, governmental policies, and economic incentives have together greatly constrained growth in oil use,...

"Natural gas may not have much impact on the senses, but as a source of heat and power it is transforming energy markets. Around 100AD Plutarch, a Graeco-Roman poet, noted the 'eternal fires' in what is now Iraq. They were probably methane gas seeping out of the ground, ignited by lightning. Those eternal fires are now proliferating. An unexpected boom in shale gas that has taken off in...

"President Obama called on Congress on Thursday to extend and expand renewable energy tax credits, visiting a town revitalized by a wind-turbine blade factory to argue that his policies have begun to transform American energy production.

Standing before an array of huge wind-turbine blades, the president complained that Republicans were jeopardizing an initiative that helped make wind...

"Last April Chesapeake Energy suffered a blowout on a natural gas well it was completing in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Within two days the company had plugged the well. There was no fire, no injuries, but several thousand gallons of chemical-tainted water spewed out, and a few hundred gallons got into a creek.

"With mounting evidence linking hundreds of small earthquakes from Oklahoma to Ohio to the energy industry's growing use of fracking technology, scientists say there is one way to minimize risks of even minor temblors.

Only, it costs about $10 million a pop.

A thorough seismic survey to assess tracts of rock below where oil and gas drilling fluid is disposed of could help detect...

"Chesapeake Energy Corp., the biggest leaseholder in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, was fined $565,000 by state officials for environmental violations, including an April incident in which hydraulic fracturing fluids entered a local creek.

Chesapeake, based in Oklahoma City, was fined for three separate violations in 2010 and 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental...

"Issuing a one-year moratorium on 'fracking,' Gov. Chris Christie today issued a conditional veto of S-2576, recommending changes to the legislation that balances protecting New Jersey’s environment and drinking water and encouraging cleaner energy alongside the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

As currently written, S-2576 would permanently prohibit fracking in...

"Speakers from the Appalachian coalfields delivered a scathing rebuke to the federal EPA during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. The subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held the public hearing EPA mining Policies; Assault on Appalachian Jobs Part II."

"A federal appeals court rules that Vice President Cheney does not have to disclose who advised him as he created the Bush administration's energy policy. Journalists and interest groups had sued to find out which energy industry executives had been involved. Lawyer Shannen Coffin, who argued Cheney's case in district court, discusses the decision."

"Although smart phones and computers make it easier to remember, last month Americans endured the semi-annual hassle of changing their clocks an hour. 'Daylight Saving Time' (DST) was originally started during World War I to allegedly save energy. Jimmy Carter gave it to us in peacetime as part of his National Energy Plan. In practice, DST causes needless headaches—and even heart attacks!—and...

"A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck an area of South Texas today that is a center point for natural gas and oil production in the Eagle Ford Shale. The quake’s epicenter was here in the unincorporated community of Campbellton in Atascosa County near Karnes County. You can see numerous wells in the county in ...

"Most of the energy consumed in America today is produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, primarily oil, coal, and natural gas. ...

In a free market, cost dictates energy choices. Fossil fuels, for example, are economically attractive for many applications because the energy available from fossil fuels is highly concentrated, easily transportable, and cheaply extracted. Renewable...

"Like flossing or losing weight, saving energy is easier to promise than to actually do — even if you are the Department of Energy.

Its Web site advises that choosing new lighting technologies can slash energy use by 50 to 75 percent. But the department is having trouble taking its own advice, according to an internal audit released on Wednesday; many of its offices are still...

"The Obama Administration has been implementing an anti-energy agenda since coming to Washington. From day one, Obama and his 'dream 'green' team' have worked to increase the cost of traditional energy to reduce usage and try to make uneconomic consumer-rejected energy (wind, solar, ethanol, electric vehicles) more economic.

"The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58), signed by President Bush on August 8, 2005, was the first omnibus energy legislation enacted in more than a decade. Spurred by rising energy prices and growing dependence on foreign oil, the new energy law was shaped by competing concerns about energy security, environmental quality, and economic growth."

This post states that "real driving" tests should be used to determine the mileage capabilities of cars. The EWG believes that using such tests would greatly decrease the United States' dependence on foreign oil, and says, "Requiring a real driving test is not a substitute for enacting higher mileage standards for cars, but it is an essential step to making cars...

"When one thinks of a Superfund site, the image is of a large landfill, a former mining pit, or an industrial site like Love Canal; places where massive contamination has released into the air, ground, or water over many, many years and where it is not safe to live, animals and benthic organisms may not even exist, and where the full power of the federal government is often needed simply to...

"The Environmental Protection Agency issued its first-ever regulations to curtail air pollution from natural gas wells that use a controversial production technique known as hydraulic fracturing, but gave the industry a three-year transition period to install technology to capture some of the worst pollutants.

The new regulations would limit emissions of volatile organic compounds, or...

"Prohibited from regulating hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA took to the air yesterday, proposing federal regulations to reduce smog-forming pollutants released by the fast-spreading approach to gas drilling.

If approved as currently written, the rules would amount to the first national standards for fracking of any kind, the EPA said. The agency sets...

"During a recent speech at Cleveland State University focused on small business in Ohio, President Obama described a goal of 'knocking down barriers that stand in the way of your growth.' Unfortunately, his EPA couldn’t be more in the dark about how to translate that message into practice — with the agency poised to adopt more than 30 new, major regulations and over 170 major policy rules in...

"The last six months has seen anti-fracking sweep Europe. In an extraordinary upsurge of citizen-led pressure, European governments, state legislatures, civil liberty groups, activists and residents have all taken up arms against the hydraulic fracturing industry.

Grassroots organisations have staged marches, legal challenges, hundreds of public meetings and many direct actions in...

"Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) today called for the adoption of a systematic hydraulic fracturing fluid disclosure program in Europe to provide further information to communities, policymakers and regulators about natural gas development technologies.

'Natural gas from shale holds tremendous promise in many places in Europe due to its lower carbon intensity and suitability for...

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued the first federal air rules for natural gas wells that are hydraulically fractured. Operators of new fractured natural gas wells will be required to use technologies to capture natural gas that might otherwise escape into the atmosphere, threatening public health.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking involves the injection of a mixture...

These subsidies have and continue to enjoy bipartisan support precisely because they benefit both Republicans and Democrats come election time, when they can say they helped create jobs for their district and state. But...

"The battle over hydraulic fracturing in the state of New York pits farmers against environmentalists, neighbor vs. neighbor, as gas companies wait to find out if they'll be able to unlock the natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale formation thousands of feet below the earth's surface.

As a panel appointed by New York's governor looks into whether it can be done safely in New York,...

"So what's all the fuss about fracking? Its most vocal opponents charge that fracking will burn your water, pollute your air and cause the very ground to shift beneath you. The oil and gas industry obviously disagrees. So who's right?

Well, not being a scientist I have to base my opinions on information I get from trusted sources, as do most of fracking's detractors. And based on that...

"In recent years, a new technique called hydrofracturing (or fracking, for short) has been used to drill for natural gas buried miles below the surface of the earth. Among the areas where fracking is expected to grow are Michigan and the mid Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania, where drilling is now taking off; and Colorado and Texas, where drilling has...

"Colorado environment groups and elected officials charged Tuesday that the state's proposed rule requiring oil and gas drillers to disclose fracking chemicals will be worthless unless state regulators close a trade-secrets loophole.

"The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a provision that has come to be known as the 'Halliburton Loophole,' an exemption for gas drilling and extraction from requirements in the underground injection control (UIC) program of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Other exemptions are also present in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act."

This piece describes how the law banning incandescent light bulbs was passed in 2007. According to Loris, this law was not based on sound economic principle, and as a result, Americans are losing jobs, creating health risks, and furthering energy inefficiency.

"Despite the widespread use of the practice, and the risks hydraulic fracturing poses to human health and safe drinking water supplies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ('EPA') does not regulate the injection of fracturing fluids under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The oil and gas industry is the only industry in America that is allowed by EPA to inject known hazardous...

"Small earthquakes in Ohio and Arkansas associated with hydraulic fracturing for natural gas have taken many people by surprise. Gas industry executives say there's no hard evidence that their activities are causing these quakes. But some scientists say it's certainly possible; in fact, people have been causing quakes for years.

"The people trying to keep 'fracking' illegal in New York rely on our ignorance about the safety and environmental impact of this drilling technology. So I went over the border to Pennsylvania for a hands-on education on the subject.

A gas-drilling site in the Endless Mountains is nothing like the plains of smoking derricks you see in photos of Texas oil fields; here, many sites are...

"Contrary to popular belief, hydroelectric power can seriously damage the climate. Proposed changes to the way countries' climate budgets are calculated aim to take greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs into account, but some experts worry that they will not go far enough."

"Mr. Obama, speaking at Georgetown University, set out a multi-pronged approach to reaching that goal: finding and producing more oil in the United States, boosting fuel efficiency, and turning to cleaner alternative fuels. And while he is not as open to domestic oil drilling as some Republicans would like, he did try to reposition himself as a drilling-friendly president, even as he pushed...

"Now that President Obama has been re-elected to the White House, energy industry officials are looking to see whether the president fulfills his campaign promise to increase domestic oil and gas production and the shape that his 'all-of-the-above' energy policy will take in the second term.﻿"

"Mitchell Energy's blockbuster contribution to the modern natural gas boom is not discredited by a partnership with federal agencies. Steward is the first to point out the pivotal long-term role the government must play in technological innovation: 'Government has to be looking down the road. We really cannot wait to develop those other energies. Industry doesn't look as far down the road as...

"John has already noted what ought to have been above-the-fold news in every newspaper last week—the testimony of the GAO's head of natural resources that the U.S. has recoverable oil shale 'about equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.' It wasn't front-page news, however, because it doesn't fit the liberal narrative and favorite talking point that the U.S. only has '2...

This piece describes how San Francisco's energy-saving, low-flush toilets actually created extra costs and unforeseen problems. Loris also touches on the ill-effects of several other energy efficient products and concludes by recommending that governmental subsidies are unnecessary in promoting these types of consumer goods.

"Directional drilling and hydraulic-fracturing technologies are dramatically increasing natural-gas extraction. In aquifers overlying the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, we document systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shalegas extraction. In active gas-extraction areas (one or more gas wells...

"In most countries of the world all mineral resources belong to the government. This includes all valuable rocks, minerals, oil or gas found on or within the Earth. Organizations or individuals in those countries can not legally extract and sell any mineral commodity without first obtaining an authorization from the government.

"Last June, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology issued a 178-page report called 'The Future of Natural Gas' (a copy of the full report is embedded below). Somehow this report escaped MDN’s notice at the time. Seeing that it’s conclusions are that hydraulic fracturing is safe, MDN understands why mainstream media outlets don’t endlessly promote it and quote from it as they do from journal...

"A high-pressure drilling technique that could unleash jobs and profits but carries pollution risks can be used safely in North Carolina if lawmakers adopt the right precautions, state environmental regulators said in a study released Friday.

But the study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, urged lawmakers to adopt more than a dozen recommendations before authorizing the drilling...

"New Jersey Democrats will try for a second time to prohibit fracking for natural gas in the most densely populated U.S. state, after Governor Chris Christie vetoed a ban in August and lodged a one-year moratorium.

While New Jersey produces no natural gas, the Utica Shale formation, a largely unexplored deposit running from Ontario, Canada, to ...

"Interest in drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation has been one of the hottest energy developments in the U.S. in 2008. An initial wave of over 900 PA drilling permits were approved in June, and that number is likely to multiply several times over during the next year or so.

The type of drilling used on the Marcellus Shale formation involves fracking: pumping a...

"Angry protestors are demanding the government end the allegedly unsafe practice of hydraulic fracturing, coined 'fracking.' The fracking controversy forced the Obama administration to take executive action in mid April 2012. In a effort to quiet the clamoring activist and restore community confidence, President Obama issued an executive order 'supporting the safe and responsible development of...

"Around 45% of the world's recoverable natural-gas reserves are 'unconventional,' comprised mainly of shale gas, and also tight gas and coal-bed methane. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reckons global gas demand will increase by more than half between 2010 and 2035, and unconventional gas will make up 32% of the total supply, up from 14% today. While Russia and the Middle East hold the...

"No one could have predicted that oil prices would rise to today's levels. Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, says that they are irrationally high, pointing out that world demand is lower than the available supply and that Saudi oil inventories around the world are largely untapped."

According to Robert Michaels, "Natural gas is the commercial name for methane, a hydrocarbon produced by the same geological processes that produce oil. Relatively abundant in North America, its production and combustion have fewer adverse environmental effects than those of coal or oil." Michaels goes on to trace the history of Natural Gas usage in the U.S. from its earliest subjection to...

"The earth’s natural resources are finite, which means that if we use them continuously, we will eventually exhaust them. This basic observation is undeniable. But another way of looking at the issue is far more relevant to assessing people’s well-being. Our exhaustible and unreproducible natural resources, if measured in terms of their prospective contribution to human welfare, can actually...

"Stronger laws to protect landowners and mineral rights holders will be needed if North Carolina legalizes fracking, according to a new draft report.

'This is still an emerging issue for lenders in North Carolina,' the Consumer Protection Division of the N.C. Department of Justice said in its draft report last week. But 'at least two North Carolina lenders ... have stated that they will...

What had been growing acceptance of nuclear power in the United States has eroded sharply in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan, with support for building nuclear power plants dropping slightly lower than it was immediately after the accident at the Three Mile Island plant in 1979.

The federal aid now in place for new nuclear plants is far from sufficient for the so-called 'nuclear renaissance' that backers are seeking, a panel made up of members of Congress, high-ranking federal officials and leaders of major nuclear companies agreed on Tuesday.

"With rising gas prices continuing to shock consumers every time they fill up their fuel tanks, President Obama is repeatedly reminding Americans that his policies are part of the solution not, as his political opponents claim, part of the problem.

And so on Wednesday, just two weeks or so after he gave his last lengthy defense of his administration's energy policies, he delivered yet...

"President Obama dedicated a substantial portion of his State of the Union address to the topic of energy, particularly renewable energy. Interestingly, he went to great lengths to point out the role of government investment in the technologies that lead to the present day natural gas fracking boom. He leveraged this point to push for continued government subsidies for...

"Obama might have had at least a plausible case against the Keystone XL Pipeline if it had been the first one to cross from Canada into the United States. Whether you agreed with the president or not, he credibly could have argued that protecting America’s pristine habitat is so important that we should not lay a pipeline to carry 1.1 million barrels per day of friendly oil across America’s...

"Indeed, recent advances in the technologies used for oil and gas exploration are saving the U.S. economy hundreds of millions of dollars per day, creating lots of high-paying jobs, decreasing the need for foreign oil, and spurring manufacturing growth, which is leading to billions of dollars of new investment (and even more jobs). Yet, the Obama administration is using its fiscal year 2013...

"Like most presidents since the 1973 oil crisis, Mr. Obama may be stymied on the grand issues of energy security, let alone preventing further climate change caused by fossil fuels. Making peace with Republicans on energy policy may not be possible. But at the very least the president has made a savvy move to position himself as an energy activist. He’s also staked out a position that can...

"President Obama claims to see the need to create jobs at this time of endless 9-plus percent unemployment -- yet his administration continues to relentlessly destroy jobs for ideological reasons. The best example may be the Obama Environmental Protection Agency’s 'war on coal.'

"In Ohio, geographically and politically positioned to become a leading importer of wastewater from gas drilling, environmentalists and lawmakers opposed to the technique known as fracking are seizing on a series of small earthquakes as a signal to proceed with caution.

Earthquakes caused by the injection of wastewater that’s a byproduct of high-pressure hydraulic fracture drilling,...

"The Energy Information Administration recently released its Annual Energy Review 2011. The Annual Energy Review is a report of historical annual energy statistics, with many of the series dating back to 1949."

"When oil prices hit record levels, many people look for a scapegoat, and hugely profitable oil companies are an easy target. Even so, the typical political 'solutions' overlook the crucial role that market prices play in resource allocation, both among competing uses in different areas of the world today and among competing uses in different time periods (i.e. today versus the future)....

"An earthquake hit outside of Oklahoma City on Saturday night. The magnitude 5.6 quake was the strongest in Oklahoma history. The US Geological Survey has released an initial report on the quake, but has not yet given an official cause.

The spectacular collapse of Solyndra has all of the trappings of an epic Washington scandal, with serial revelations of embarrassing and potentially improper White House machinations to secure a $535 million federal loan guarantee for a startup company with dubious prospects of success.

"One of the most fundamental requirements of a capitalist economic system—and one of the most misunderstood concepts—is a strong system of property rights. For decades social critics in the United States and throughout the Western world have complained that 'property' rights too often take precedence over 'human' rights, with the result that people are treated unequally and have unequal...

"My dear friend Olivia Newton-John Easterling called me the other day and asked if I had ever heard of fracturing or fracking? She was livid! Queensland Australia is now a hot bed issue due to the governments invasive efforts to create a zillion dollar industry from the production of natural gas. As Healthy Child's first National Spokesperson and a Goodwill Ambassador to the United...

"Water is an integral component of the hydraulic fracturing process. EPA Office of Water regulates waste disposal of flowback and sometimes the injection of fracturing fluids as authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act."

For more than three decades, presidents have instructed federal agencies to consider a wide variety of alternatives to regulation as well as alternative types of regulation. Agency compliance has been uneven at best—largely because agencies often decide what regulation to issue before they even consider alternatives. Agencies sometimes do examine the pros and cons of alternatives, but this is...

"Elites in oil rich countries are investing heavily in renewable energy forms in part because selling oil to addicts like Americans makes them a lot more money than selling that same oil to their own citizens.

Take Saudi Arabia, for example. The Saudi government recently announced a $100 billion investment in nuclear and renewable energy -- with the stated goal of increasing the amount...

"President Obama spoke from the White House's South Lawn this morning, urging Congress to end the $4 billion in tax subsidies oil and natural gas companies receive from the government every year. Obama noted that 'Exxon pocketed nearly $4.7 million every hour' last year, and simply doesn't need taxpayer subsidies on top of companies' massive profits."

"A team of researchers from Cornell University has published the first comprehensive study looking at the impact of shale gas extraction on the environment and has concluded it is worse for the climate than burning coal.

Lead researcher Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology at the university in Ithaca, N.Y., said his team came to that conclusion after studying the carbon dioxide...

"Legislation authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) that would put California in the national forefront in its commitment to renewable energy is headed to Governor Jerry Brown. Senate Bill 2X would require private and public utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020, raising the target from the current 20%, while providing the flexibility...

"Last week, in fulfillment of a 2008 Act of Congress, our National Academies of Science published 'America’s Climate Choices' [ACC], another in a numbing succession of groupthink reports predicting the end of the world unless the U.S. dramatically reduces its emissions of carbon dioxide. Pronto.

Documents like this aren’t really intended to change anyone’s mind. Rather, they are...

"The future of climate change policy may be decided in a federal courtroom rather than on Capitol Hill. In recent years, state attorneys general and environmentalist groups have brought lawsuits seeking to force action on the issue of climate change under a range of statutes and legal theories. One case, Massachusetts v. EPA, was argued before the Supreme Court in November 2006. More are on...

"When the government decides to favor a technology with subsidies, it’s a good bet that subsidy 'winner' is a loser in the marketplace. Political decisions to provide subsidies distort the marketplace at the expense of economic growth and prosperity. That’s exactly what has happened--and what continues to happen--with America’s energy tax policy. Reversing this practice will benefit American...

"Today, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) introduced the NAT GAS Act of 2011 to encourage the use of domestic natural gas to fuel vehicles. The legislation is the Senate’s version of the H.R. 1380, which has broad bi-partisan support in the House with 181 co-sponsors."

"At the behest of Congress, the Department of Energy (DOE) has 'invested' several years and considerable tax dollars in devising restrictions on the amount of electricity it takes to run virtually every household appliance. Alas, a regulator’s work is never done. Having assumed control over the energy we use to cook, clean, light, heat, and cool every room in our...

"Some households just can’t afford to save energy. When the upfront costs of new light bulbs exceed the savings from using less electricity, people will stick with the old ones." This piece goes on to describe how the Department of Energy has difficulty practicing what they preach in terms of energy efficient resources.

"The United States has lacked a coherent, serious energy policy for decades. Questions regarding whether to emphasize increased oil production or conservation remain largely unsettled, and the misguided notion of a quick and relatively painless energy revolution has derailed discussion of the difficult tradeoffs that must be considered. Policymakers should remember that energy transitions take...

"The U.S. is in the midst of an energy revolution, and we don't mean solar panels or wind turbines. A new gusher of natural gas from shale has the potential to transform U.S. energy production—that is, unless politicians, greens and the industry mess it up.

Only a decade ago Texas oil engineers hit upon the idea of combining two established technologies to release natural gas trapped in...

"Given the red-team/blue-team dynamic of American politics, it was probably inevitable that discussion of energy policy would degenerate into a debate between drillers and renewers—between those who want more domestic oil exploration to the exclusion of other power sources, and those who want the U.S. to kick its petroleum habit entirely. Both sides are being unrealistic."

"There's a wealth of natural gas trapped underground—but what depths do we have to plumb to extract it? More and more, oil and gas companies are opting for fracking, or hydraulic fracturing: injecting a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into dense rock layers and shale, creating cracks that allow natural gas trapped inside to flow to the earth's surface. Once an also-ran in fossil-fuel...

"Cheap, plentiful natural gas is a mixed bag. With a glut of natural gas and depressed demand in the US, the industry outlook may have been glum. Plenty of big LNG projects are still going ahead. So news today that US natural gas reserves may be much bigger than thought may not be welcome news for many.

"Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is urging Congress to pass the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (NAT GAS Act) to subsidize the deployment of vehicles fueled by compressed natural gas and associated infrastructure. By one estimate, the NAT GAS Act would spend $9 billion to subsidize the creation of a fleet of CNG vehicles. It's probably just a coincidence that...

Arguing that U.S. reliance on traditional energy sources severely effect the health and lifespans of U.S. citizens, Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney suggest that "[w]e need a paradigm shift in our domestic energy strategy. The so-called 'social costs' of energy sources resulting from harmful emissions or foreign policy decisions, for example, must be priced so that businesses and consumers...

"Through this special series on green-energy crony-corruption, we've been highlighting specific examples of green-energy loan guarantees and grants. What connects each of these cases is that they received fast-tracked approval from the Department of Interior (DOI) for their projects. Of course, they also have many other dots that connect, such as key players with White House visits, raising...

"In 1974 the general public got a graphic illustration of the 'tragedy of the commons' in satellite photos of the earth. Pictures of northern Africa showed an irregular dark patch 390 square miles in area. Ground-level investigation revealed a fenced area inside of which there was plenty of grass. Outside, the ground cover had been devastated.

"The initial 1,700-mile pipeline [Calgary-based TransCanada], intended to carry a heavy crude known as tar sands from Alberta across seven U.S. states, has become a political issue. Citing rising gas prices and the need to create U.S. jobs, Republicans have criticized Obama for denying a permit last month and siding with environmentalists who say the crude's development would exacerbate...

"Americans are growing increasingly concerned about energy. Their demand for energy is increasing faster than secure supplies. Much of the world's sup­ply of oil is delivered in a restrictive market dominated by unstable or hostile nations, some of which are using energy as a tool to frustrate U.S. national secu­rity and foreign policy objectives.

"Every president since Richard Nixon has called for the U.S. to wean itself from needing oil from unstable or unsavory countries. The nation's new-found energy riches are likely to bring that ambition closer to reality in the next two decades, according to many forecasters.

It's no pipe dream. The U.S. is already the world's fastest-growing oil and natural gas producer. Counting the...

"Halliburton (HAL.N) has reached an agreement with the U.S. government to comply with an order to turn over details about the chemicals the company uses in a controversial technique to drill for natural gas.

The Environmental Protection Agency subpoenaed Halliburton last month, saying the company had not fully complied with demands for information about the composition of chemicals used...

While renewed attention to the safety of U.S. power plants is warranted, it is simply too early for policymakers to implement sweeping policy reforms. Until the full scope and implications of the Fukushima disaster are understood, it will be unclear which lessons the U.S. should learn.

"America's oil and natural gas boom has led to a 'remarkable' rise in earthquakes in the middle of the country, the US Geological Survey said on Wednesday. But scientists said the man-made quakes were not directly caused by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves pumping chemicals and water deep into underground rock formations.

"In its closing months, the Bush administration has issued at least a dozen new important regulations and notices on energy and environmental issues, hitting upon everything from power plant emissions to safeguards for endangered species. In some cases, the new rules, which are part of the administration's final effort to shape a lasting domestic legacy, merely tweak existing laws. In other...

"The world is heading for a catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery because most of the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production, a leading energy economist has warned.

Higher oil prices brought on by a rapid increase in demand and a stagnation, or even decline, in supply could blow any recovery off course, said Dr Fatih Birol, the...

"The recent press about the potential of shale gas would have you believe that America is now sitting on a 100-year supply of natural gas. It's a 'game-changer.' A 'golden age of gas' awaits, one in which the United States will be energy independent, even exporting gas to the rest of the world, upending our current energy-importing situation.

"Environmental issues have been framed mostly as economic issues during this election campaign: How can we bring down gas prices? Can we create jobs with a new oil pipeline? Does the Environmental Protection Agency cost jobs? But these issues impact both our bank accounts and the environment. Here's some highlights of their records so far."

"In his fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget request, President Obama proposed to end subsidies for oil companies by eliminating tax breaks, including accelerated depreciation options. A growing number of policymakers have echoed that call.

Though the President’s anti-subsidy rhetoric is on track, there are several fundamental problems with the Administration’s crusade. The President...

The chart above uses data from a 2009 interdisciplinary study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to compare the costs of generating a kilowatt hour of electricity using nuclear, coal, and gas power.

"The chart above uses data compiled from various sources to compare the deaths per terawatt of energy produced. Deaths resulting from the production of nuclear power are over 4000 times less than the rate of death resulting from the production of energy from coal."

As presented above, this analysis estimates the total economic effects associated with stopping deepwater drilling. Using the BEA’s final-demand employment multipliers in Table A2 and the estimated production loss in Table 1 yields the expected losses in employment in Table 4.

These tables give a sense of the distribution of the jobs lost from the moratorium. A large portion of lost positions (approximately 38 percent) would be lost in high-skill fields, such as health care, real estate, professional services, manufacturing, administration, finance, education, the arts, information, and management.

Using the production estimates from Table 2 and the BEA multipliers in Table A2, the estimated decrease in economic output based on the estimated oil and natural gas production is presented in Table 3.

Nevertheless, a large proportion of the winners were companies with Obama-campaign connections. Indeed, at least ten members of Obama's finance committee and more than a dozen of his campaign bundlers were big winners in getting your money.

"The [...] chart shows the percentage changes in the past five years off the 2006 baseline. You can see gasoline at about 46% of distillates usage is the driver for the big drop in petroleum right now."

The economic contributions of the coal industry (NAICS 2121) on the West Virginia economy are significant. For 2008, the economic impact of the coal industry was $19.78 billion of business volume (Table 7).

It is reasonable to assume that a state’s production is tied to its available reserves, and by association the state’s proximity to oil. Thus, to apportion total production to the GOM states, I use each state’s share of the total oil and natural gas reserves in the GOM.

"The last six months has seen anti-fracking sweep Europe. In an extraordinary upsurge of citizen-led pressure, European governments, state legislatures, civil liberty groups, activists and residents have all taken up arms against the hydraulic fracturing industry."

"Using fracking to access shale gas would vastly increase gas resources in many countries. Russia and the Middle East are not included because their large reserves of easily accessible gas will render shale gas less important there."

"Approvals [are] taking longer. Exploration and development plan approvals are down by more than 85 percent from previous levels; approvals of drill permits covered by those exploration and development plans show a decline from previous levels of nearly 65 percent (see Figure ES-2)."

The Interprovincial Pipeline (now called Enbridge) was built in 1950, to carry crude oil from Edmonton, Alberta, to Superior, Wis. Canadian natural gas first passed into America via a pipeline under the Detroit River in 1895. Today, scores of pipelines traverse the U.S.–Canadian border, as this map shows.

"As demonstrated in Figure 1, Pennsylvania anthracite dominated urban markets by the late 1830s. By 1840, annual production had topped one million tons, or about ten times the annual production of the Richmond bituminous field."

According to a report from the United Mine Workers of America, job losses associated with the closure of EPA-targeted coal units could be significant, amounting to more than 50,000 direct jobs in the coal, utility and rail industries, and an indirect job loss figure exceeding 250,000. Following are the regions expected to be hit the hardest.

Unfortunately, numerous generators across the country are warning of further retirement announcements. EPA’s announcement that it has finalized the Mercury and Air Toxics Rule (Utility MACT) will surely be met with a further wave of plant closure announcements in the coming weeks and months as utilities struggle to comply with these burdensome regulations.

Petroleum prices catapulted in the 1970s and 1980s under the influence of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (opec). After that, as Figure 1 shows, real oil prices returned to their historical levels, until 2003, when oil prices increased significantly again."

"Global reserves have been steadily increasing for at least 30 years. According to a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published last year, world production has grown significantly too, rising by two-fifths between 1990 and 2009, twice as fast as that of oil."

Between 2009 and 2010, renewable energy consumption rose by 6 percent to over 8 quadrillion Btu (Figure 1). At the same time, total U.S. energy consumption rebounded by 4 percent to nearly 98 quadrillion Btu, due in some measure to economic recovery (Table 1).

"By analyzing the total economic harm associated with the moratorium, Dr. Mason finds that there would be broad economic losses within the Gulf region and throughout the nation as a whole. Dr. Mason concludes that President Obama’s moratorium will have grave economic consequences for the Gulf and the nation."

Perhaps the most significant factor in preventing E85 consumption is its high cost at the pump when compared to E10 gasoline. E85 has been more expensive at the pump on a GGE basis since 2000 according to DOE data shown in Figure 4.

Between 2009 and 2010, renewable energy consumption rose by 6 percent to over 8 quadrillion Btu (Figure 1). At the same time, total U.S. energy consumption rebounded by 4 percent to nearly 98 quadrillion Btu, due in some measure to economic recovery (Table 1).

"Most of the energy consumed in America today is produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, primarily oil, coal, and natural gas. Figure 1 indicates the sources of energy employed by the American economy as of February 2004."

Looking specifically at oil, at least twelve major pipelines cross the Canadian frontier into the United States. As this map from the American Petroleum Institute indicates, oil and refined-product pipelines run throughout American soil in every direction.

A sustained slowdown in the Gulf of Mexico is already having a negative impact on job creation and domestic oil production, and will do so even more in 2012. The potential opportunities associated with a proactive approach by regulators to successfully restart the Gulf of Mexico 'engine' are significant.

One potential outcome of the moratorium is that all production in the Gulf of Mexico stops because offshore drilling is deemed too dangerous. Although unlikely, repeating the analysis with this assumption can be a useful exercise by providing an idea of the total amount of output, employment, wages, and tax revenue at stake.

"Large-scale federal intervention into America’s energy markets began in the 1930s and continued through the 1970s. A series of major laws and executive actions sought to control energy prices, regulate electric and gas utilities, and limit imports. Competition was stifled and domestic investment was suppressed."

"This system masks the social costs arising from those energy choices, including shorter lives, higher health care expenses, a changing climate, and weakened national security. As a result, we pay unnecessarily high costs for energy. New 'rules of the road' are needed to improve our living standards."

"Over the past few years, the U.S. Department of Defense has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the development, testing, and certification of alternative fuels that can substitute for petroleum-derived fuels used by the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force in their tactical weapon systems."

"Any energy policy that tightens supplies and raises prices will hurt everyone—but especially the lower and middle income—and needlessly prolong the economic misery. It is vitally important to thwart policy initiatives that raise energy prices, make American manufacturing uncompetitive, and send American jobs abroad."

As natural gas production rapidly increases across the U.S., its associated pollution has reached the stage where it is contaminating essential life support systems - water, air, and soil - and causing harm to the health of humans, wildlife, domestic animals, and vegetation.

"When discussing our society’s big problems, there is a tendency to assume that we have the knowledge we will require to act on the problems before us. And there is a tendency to presume that the intentions of our actions will translate seamlessly to the desired consequences."

Unfortunately, in the case of this film, accuracy is too often pushed aside for simplicity, evidence too often sacrificed for exaggeration, and the same old cast of characters and anecdotes – previously debunked – simply lifted from prior incarnations of the film and given a new home in this one."

"Throughout its implementation during World Wars I and II, the oil embargo of the 1970s, consistent practice today, and recent extensions, the primary rationale for DST has always been to promote energy conservation. Nevertheless, there is surprisingly little evidence that DST actually saves energy."

"Based on a request from Congress, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) worked with the U.S. Department of Transportation on a study of the current CAFÉ standards. The study also examined the impact of possible future changes to the structure of the CAFE program."

"There’s broad agreement that America should reduce its dependence on imported oil, but far less agreement on why. Are we combating global warming, or are we distancing ourselves from hostile and unstable regimes?"

"But even at a time of great economic stress, EPA is poised to enact a series of back-door mandates that threaten to cost millions of Americans their jobs, and increase the cost of their electricity while they’re at it. Collectively, it’s called the EPA 'Train Wreck' - and it’s right around the bend."

"The current energy and climate debate would benefit from a broader understanding of the explicit and hidden government subsidies that affect energy use throughout the economy. In an effort to examine this issue, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) conducted a review of fossil fuel and renewable energy subsidies for Fiscal Years 2002-2008."

"The wealth effects of energy production increase during peak oil shocks that help energy-producing states hedge against peak oil shocks. I test this hypothesis using consumption and gross state product data for US states for the period 1963-2007."

"My first heresy says that all the fuss about global warming is grossly exaggerated. Here I am opposing the holy brotherhood of climate model experts and the crowd of deluded citizens who believe the numbers predicted by the computer models."

Exploiting the world’s vast resources of unconventional natural gas holds the key to a golden age of gas, but for that to happen governments, industry and other stakeholders must work together to address legitimate public concerns about the associated environmental and social impacts.

U.S. natural gas demand is projected to exceed 30 trillion cubic feet per year within two decades. To meet this demand producers will increasingly rely on production from unconventional gas such as tight sands, coalbed methane, and gas shales.

In response to complaints by domestic well owners regarding objectionable taste and odor problems in well water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated a ground water investigation near the town of Pavillion, Wyoming under authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

"This section will outline the major historical regulatory events related to the natural gas industry, and show how the current structure of the industry in the U.S. is the product of a long regulatory evolution."

"Despite bipartisan interest in advancing American energy policy, comprehensive energy and climate legislation fell short in the Senate last year after passing in the House of Representatives in 2009. The difficulty of coming to broad agreement highlights the need for a more targeted and incremental approach."

"Energy research and development (R&D) intended to advance technology played an important role in the successful outcome of World War II. In the post-war era, the federal government conducted R&D on fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources to support peacetime economic growth."

"This report presents the findings of the first stage of a longer research program that IHS CERA and IHS Global Insight are conducting to evaluate the pace of plan and permit approval in the post-moratorium environment in the Gulf of Mexico."

"The Reagan Administration is proceeding with its plan to dismantle much of the Federal solar energy program as it existed under the Carter Administration. The objective is to reduce Federal expenditures and bureaucracy and to limit Federal involvement in program areas where the private sector can take over."

"The transportation of petroleum represents one of the most strategically important circulations of resources in the global economy. Its role cannot be overstated. Yet, petroleum has become a 'strategically invisible' commodity as its flow has been continuous with limited, but eye-opening, disruptions such as the First Energy Crisis is 1973."

"Many politicians and pundits are panicked over the existing state of the oil and gasoline markets. Disregarding past experience, these parties advocate massive intervention in those markets, which would only serve to repeat and extend previous errors. These interventionists propose solutions to nonexistent problems."

This extensive report argues for "the transformation from a predominantly carbon-intensive economy to ... a predominantly clean energy-based economy." Written in 2009, the paper evaluates how this goal can be accomplished through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

"In this report, Dr. Joseph R. Mason investigates the resultant economic effects if either moratorium is allowed to stand. By analyzing the total economic harm associated with the moratorium, Dr. Mason finds that there would be broad economic losses within the Gulf region and throughout the nation as a whole."

"There is increasing concern in the U.S. Congress about long-term federal transportation funding. This paper is designed to assist policymakers in assessing whether an oil tax would be a useful option for funding future expenditures on U.S. transportation infrastructure."

The popular belief about U.S. natural gas supplies is that they are a declining resource. In fact, most ex-perts believe that our production of gas from traditional domestic resources has already peaked and will only continue to fall in future years.

"While the size and growth of the coal mining industry in West Virginia depends heavily on the strength of the national and global economies, both current and proposed public policies also have the potential to dramatically affect the future of the coal mining industry in the state...."

"In October, the Institute for Energy Research reported that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) modeling and announced power plant closures, EPA’s upcoming regulations will shutter almost 28 GW of electricity generation capacity."

"Any serious conversation about the planet’s climate and our energy future must begin, paradoxically, with a backward look at geologic time. The reason for this is that the way forward is fogged by misunderstandings about the earth."

"Imagine if John McCain had whispered somewhere that he was willing to bankrupt a major industry? Would this declaration not immediately be front page news? Well, Barack Obama actually flat out told the San Francisco Chronicle (SF Gate) that he was willing to see the coal industry go bankrupt in a January 17, 2008 interview. The result? Nothing. This audio interview has been hidden from the...

"Robert Laughlin of Stanford University and the 1998 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about energy use and the future of the earth's climate. Drawing on his forthcoming book on energy, Laughlin predicts that we will continue to use cars and planes and electricity long after coal and petroleum are exhausted and speculates as to how that might play...

"[Seth] Fletcher traces the battle to create a better, long-lasting battery in 'Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars and the New Lithium Economy.' Fletcher tells 'Fresh Air''s Dave Davies that lithium, the material of choice for battery manufacturers, has the potential to transform the automotive industry, power grids and the environment."

"The Film 'Gasland,' whatever the intentions of the filmmaker, has contributed to a dialogue based more on fear than facts. While it is a dramatic movie, 'Gasland' is a deeply flawed documentary that gets several important facts wrong."

"Prof. Steve Horwitz addresses the common belief that the world is running out of natural resources. Instead, there are economic reasons why we will never run out of many resources. In a free market system, prices signal scarcity. So as a resource becomes more scarce, it becomes more expensive, which incentivizes people to use less of it and develop new alternatives, or to find new reserves of...

"There has never been a recorded earthquake in Youngstown, Ohio until 2011, when seismologists recorded eleven. Michelle Miller reports on how the town's seismologist blames the quakes on the natural gas extraction technique known as fracking."

"In 2007, the Supreme Court declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are 'pollutants' under the Clean Air Act. Since then, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced its intention to adopt far-reaching greenhouse gas regulations. At the same time, Congress is considering federal climate legislation. What will these new regulatory initiatives mean? What will they cost? And...

"$18.6 billion worth of direct financial subsidies were provided by the federal government to energy companies and organizations in 2009 – with the promise that such support would reduce America’s reliance on foreign energy sources, push technological breakthroughs, and ensure that Americans had access to reliable and affordable energy sources. Unfortunately, this approach has failed miserably...

"An original investigative report by Earth Focus and UK's Ecologist Film Unit looks at the risks of natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale. From toxic chemicals in drinking water to unregulated interstate dumping of potentially radioactive waste that experts fear can contaminate water supplies in major population centers including New York City, are the health consequences worth the...

"As Congress debates extending biofuel tax credits and the ethanol import tariff, questions are being raised about the broader policy mix that includes subsidies, tariffs, mandates, and sustainability standards. As a recent CBO report revealed, some of these policies — the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) in particular — are quite expensive. Although biofuels were once hailed as a...

"President Obama spoke from the White House's South Lawn this morning, urging Congress to end the $4 billion in tax subsidies oil and natural gas companies receive from the government every year. Obama noted that 'Exxon pocketed nearly $4.7 million every hour' last year, and simply doesn't need taxpayer subsidies on top of companies' massive profits.

"America's got gas...more than 100 year's worth say energy experts. But much of this natural gas is trapped in deeply buried shale rock formations, and can only be tapped with special drilling practices. That has led to an intense environmental debate over the risks and rewards of producing this home grown and clean burning fuel. But what is rhetoric? And what is reality?

"Renewable energies such as wind, solar, and biomass, along with energy-efficiency initiatives like building retrofits — so-called 'green energy' — are all the political rage in America today. Proponents contend that we are in the midst of a transformative green-energy revolution. The Obama administration goes so far as to argue that this new 'green economy' will be one of the key building...

"There are lot of different perspectives on how to solve America's oil dependency problem. Some would argue that government needs to make gas more expensive while subsidizing renewable energy. Others would argue that government needs to step out of the way and let American ingenuity take over. Learn more with this video and make up your own mind."

An Executive Order given by Franklin Roosevelt that created the Rural Electrification Administration in order to, "initiate, formulate, administer, and supervise a program of approved projects with respect to the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy in rural areas."

In a short period of time, Franklin Roosevelt's energy polices shifted from proliferation toward conservation.

"Our resources of coal, oil, gas and water power provide the energy to turn the wheels of industry, to service our homes, and to aid in national defense. We now use more energy per capita than any other people, and our scientists tell us there will be a progressively increasing...

The benefits of the project, Truman said, were diverse. "Is more than dams and locks and chemical plants and power lines. It is an important experiment in democracy. In it, administrative methods have been devised which bring the people and their Federal Government closer together--not in Washington, but right where the...

"At home and abroad, America is in a time of transition. Old problems are yielding to new initiatives, but in their place new problems are arising which once again challenge our ingenuity and require vigorous action. Nowhere is this more clearly true than in the field of energy.

As America has become more prosperous and more heavily industrialized, our demands for energy have soared....

"Energy Secretary Steven Chu had a distinguished scientific career before joining Barack Obama's cabinet. He shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, was a professor at Stanford University, and ran the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He was the guest speaker at the April 1 Monitor breakfast in Washington, D.C. where he discussed Japan's nuclear crisis, the clean-energy transition, and...

"We desire to emphasize that the responsibility for devising means to ensure that the new discoveries shall be used for the benefit of mankind, instead of as a means of destruction, rests not on our nations alone, but upon the whole civilized world. Nevertheless, the progress that we have made in the development and use of atomic energy demands that we take an initiative in the matter, and we...

This treaty declares that "[t]he parties shall cooperate in the development of scientific research on and practical use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes and in the fields of nuclear safety and radiation protection in accordance with the provisions of this agreement and their applicable treaties, national laws, regulations and license requirements."

This document is described as "An Act To provide for the designation and conservation of certain public lands in the State of Alaska, including the designation of units of the National Park, National Wildlife Refuge, National Forest, National Wild and Scenic Rivers, and National Wilderness Preservation Systems, and for other purposes." Sections 1008 and 1009 of this law specifically relate to...

Often referred to as the Waxman-Markey Bill, this piece of legislation is cited as "AN ACT To create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy."

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States in the matter of American Electric Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut, a case addressing states' and private parties' right to sue utilities for contributing to global warming.

Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009....

"Canada is on the edge of an historic choice: to diversify our energy markets away from our traditional trading partner in the United States or to continue with the status quo.

Virtually all our energy exports go to the US. As a country, we must seek new markets for our products and services and the booming Asia-Pacific economies have shown great interest in our oil, gas, metals and...

"A report of historical annual energy statistics. For many series, data begin with the year 1949. Included are data on total energy production, consumption, and trade; overviews of petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, renewable energy, international energy, as well as financial and environmental indicators; and data unit conversion tables."

"Research and experimentation in the field of nuclear chain reaction have attained the stage at which the release of atomic energy on a large scale is practical. The significance of, the atomic bomb for military purposes is evident. The effect of the use of atomic energy for civilian purposes upon the social, economic, and political structures of today cannot now be determined. It is a field...

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) highlighted the importance of reducing the Nation's dependence on foreign oil and conserving scarce energy resources. The Department of Energy, as the designated lead agency for promoting new technologies, providing leadership for energy conservation and helping Federal agencies reduce energy costs, plays a pivotal role in...

The issue of coal-derived energy was one of the many topics discussed by Coolidge in his first annual message. Coolidge declared that "[t]he supply of coal must be constant. In case of its prospective interruption, the President should have authority to appoint a commission empowered to deal with whatever emergency situation might arise, to aid conciliation and voluntary arbitration, to adjust...

This case challenged new CAFE standards for cars made in 2011 and beyond. The court decided that the new CAFE "Final Rule" was "arbitrary and capricious ... [and] contrary to the EPCA in its failure to monetize the value of carbon emissions, failure to set a backstop, failure to close the SUV loophole, and failure to set fuel economy standards for all vehicles in the 8,500 to 10,000 gross...

A case between Vice President Dick Cheney and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that came to an appeal after a lower court ordered Cheney to disclose records that would show how his National Energy Policy Development Group developed its policy recommendations.

"The plaintiffs, residents and owners of lands and property along the Mississippi Gulf coast, filed this putative class action in the district court against the named defendants, corporations that have principal offices in other states but are doing business in Mississippi. The plaintiffs allege that defendants’ operation of energy, fossil fuels, and chemical industries in the United States...

"An act to establish a Department of Energy in the executive branch by the reorganization of energy functions within the Federal Government in order to secure effective management to assure a coordinated national energy policy, and for other purposes."

"The impending crisis of energy shortages has brought about an unprecedented quick action by the Congress in establishing the new Department of Energy.

This in some ways has been controversial legislation because many agencies of Government are now being brought together under one roof, about 50 different agencies. And in the future, the head of this Department will be a person working...

"Before the General Assembly of the United Nations, Eisenhower discusses the atomic capabilities of the United States and its allies, as well as the Soviet Union and the implications for world peace. The President indicates a willingness to negotiate the reduction of atomic armaments with other nations and to use atomic energy for peaceful means."

Remarks by President Eisenhower after a tour of a nuclear power plant.

Promoting the technology, Eisenhower said, "I am very hopeful that more than governments will get interested in this project. I hope that private business and professional men throughout the world will take an interest, and provide an incentive in finding new ways that this new science can be used.

"The new Act permits us, under proper security safeguards, to give our allies certain information that they must have for an effective defense against aggression. This information includes data needed for training in the use of and defense against atomic weapons and for evaluating the atomic capabilities of a potential aggressor. Agreements of this type with our allies will greatly strengthen...

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, "The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) established a number of energy management goals for Federal facilities and fleets. It also amended portions of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA)."

An act which, among other things: "Creates a Strategic Petroleum Reserve Office in the FEA. Requires creation of a Strategic Petroleum Reserve for storage of up to 1,000,000,000 barrels of petroleum products. Requires storage within three years of enactment of at least 150,000,000 barrels of petroleum products in such Reserve or in the Early Storage Reserve."

"An Act To reorganize and consolidate certain functions of the Federal Government in a new Energy Research and Development Administration and in a new Nuclear Regulatory Commission in order to promote more efficient management of such functions."

"Energy tax policy involves the use of one of the government’s main fiscal instruments, taxes (both as an incentive and as a disincentive) to alter the allocation or configuration of energy resources and their use. In theory, energy taxes and subsidies, like tax policy instruments in general, are intended either to correct a problem or distortion in the energy markets or to achieve some...

A statement given by Erik Milito of the American Petroleum Institute addressing President Obama's March 30, 2011 speech on America's energy policy. Milito said, in part, "We hope the president will abandon energy politics in favor of energy policies that will provide Americans what they want and deserve: more energy, economic growth and more jobs. We have a million American jobs that we can...

According to PSU, this act marked the "[f]irst time an Energy Title was included in the Farm Bill - including $405 million in mandatory funding over the following 5 years for the procurement of biobased products, grants and loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, research and development and the...

"This report responds to a request from Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee that the EIA update its 1999 to 2000 work on Federal energy subsidies, including any additions or deletions of Federal subsidies based on Administration and Congressional action since the previous report was written, and to provide an estimate of the size of each current subsidy. Subsidies to be included are those...

"This is a rate case involving numerous questions which arise out of the Federal Power Commission's regulation ... of the rates to be charged for the sale of natural gas by cross-petitioners, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America and Texoma Natural Gas Company."

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "The original Federal Power Act provides for cooperation between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) and other Federal agencies, including resource agencies, in licensing and relicensing power projects. The President is required to appoint the five commissioners with the advice and consent of the Senate (16 U.S.C. 792). The President is also authorized, at the request of the Commission, to detail engineers from the Departments of Agriculture or Interior for field work (16 U.S.C. 793)."

Remarks by Franklin Roosevelt during the Labor Day 1940 dedication of a hydroelectric dam.

Roosevelt exulted the technology, saying, "This Chickamauga Dam, the sixth in the series of mammoth structures built by the Tennessee Valley Authority for the people of the United States, is helping to give to all of us human control of the watershed of the Tennessee River in order that it may...

"We've already made progress toward reducing that energy vulnerability. We've diversified our suppliers so that we are not unduly reliant on any single source. What's more, through the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we've vastly improved our ability to respond flexibly to supply interruptions. And we have already begun moving on the path toward improved energy efficiency.

In remarks at the restarting of a nuclear reactor, George W. Bush explained the importance of nuclear energy and encouraged its proliferation. "Nuclear power is America's third leading source of electricity. It provides nearly 20 percent of our country's electricity. I don't know if a lot of our citizens understand that, but nuclear power is a key component of economic vitality because it...

"The bill recognizes that America is the world's leader in technology and that we've got to use technology to be the world's leader in energy conservation. The bill includes incentives for consumers to be better conservers of energy. If you own a home, you can receive new tax credits to install energy-efficient windows and appliances. If you're in the market for a car, this bill will help you...

"President Ford addresses the American people to discuss his efforts to pass an energy policy bill. He points to a lack of cooperation by Congress to enact any legislation to make the United States less dependent on foreign oil, conserve energy, and increase domestic production. The President and Congress eventually reach an agreement in December 1975 with the passage of the Omnibus Energy...

A nationally broadcast radio and television address where Gerald Ford talked with American's about, "putting our domestic house in order."

"Americans are no longer in full control of their own national destiny when that destiny depends on uncertain foreign fuel at high prices fixed by others. Higher energy costs compound both inflation and recession, and dependence on others for future...

A nationally broadcast radio and television address where Gerald Ford upbraided Congress for its lack of action and explained his own reasoning as he introduced tariffs on foreign oil and deregulation of domestic drilling. "When I talk about energy, I am talking about jobs. Our American economy runs on energy--no energy, no jobs. In the long run, it is just that simple.[...] I cannot sit here...

Harry Truman's address to Congress, just after the end of World War II.

His remarks began, "Almost two months have passed since the atomic bomb was used against Japan. That bomb did not win the war, but it certainly shortened the war. We know that it saved the lives of untold thousands of American and Allied soldiers who would otherwise have been killed in battle.

A telegram from Herbert Hoover protesting the distribution of pamphlets to oil workers that alleged Hoover had personal connections to foreign oil. "I HAVE your telegram stating that Democratic agents despite all proof to the contrary are still circulating misleading statements through the oil fields that I have been opposed to relief to the oil industry because of my supposed interest in...

"The United States relied on net imports (imports minus exports) for about 45% of the petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) that we consumed in 2011. Just over half of these imports came from the Western Hemisphere. Our dependence on foreign petroleum has declined since peaking in 2005."

"Congress is examining numerous energy sources to determine their contribution to the nation's energy portfolio and the federal role in supporting these sources. Hydropower, the use of flowing water to produce electricity, is one such source. Conventional hydropower accounted for approximately 6% of total U.S. net electricity generation in 2010.

A Jimmy Carter address to the American people concerning energy policy. Carter opened the address grimly, "Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime."

A letter from John Kennedy to the director of his campaign leader in Texas, explaining his position on oil depletion allowances. "I have consistently, throughout this campaign, made clear my recognition of the value and importance of the oil-depletion allowance. I realize its purpose and value are to provide a rate of exploration, development, and production adequate to our national security...

"﻿BATON ROUGE (June 14, 2010) - The six-month drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico will cripple Louisiana's economy and leave thousands of families without income, particularly in coastal Louisiana, where one in three jobs is related to the oil and natural gas industry. In Louisiana, oil and gas production can be divided into three industries - oil and gas extraction, refineries and...

"The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012."

In remarks at a dedication of a hydroelectric dam, Lindon Johnson noted progress facilitated by hydroelectric projects. "You know, in 1940, after I had been in Congress several years, I looked up the number of homes with electric lighting in my State, and we had 59 out of every 100. Today we have 100 percent rural electrification. In Oklahoma they had 55 percent of their homes electrified in...

Toward the end of this message, President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed American use of electricity and natural gas. The President declared that it was highly necessary for the U.S. to implement more safety regulations in the production and transportation of natural gas.

In public statements and at the Subcommittee’s hearings on Solyndra, Republican members of the Committee have alleged that the White House rushed the review and approval of the Solyndra loan guarantee in September 2009.

“This publication is the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (P.L. 95-619). The purposes of this act are to provide for the regulation of interstate commerce, to reduce the growth in demand for energy in the United States, and to conserve nonrenewable energy resources produced in this nation and elsewhere, without inhibiting beneficial economic growth.”

"The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that today’s oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) generated winning bids totaling $3,637,477 and covering 17 tracts on about 141,739 acres. The sale demonstrated industry interest in areas with high resource potential adjacent to State of Alaska lease tracts along the Colville...

"Due to the growth in natural gas production, primarily from shale gas, the United States is benefiting from some of the lowest prices for natural gas in the world and faces the question of how to best use this resource."

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, "The Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA) granted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority over intrastate as well as interstate natural gas production."

"An Act to provide for the development of repositories for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, to establish a program of research, development, and demonstration regarding the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, and for other purposes."

According to Pennsylvania State University, this act "[p]romoted the development of ocean thermal energy conversion to minimize dependence on foreign oil, with NOAA having the authority to license OTEC facilities, but low fossil fuel prices resulted in no requests for license applications being filed."

"On March 11, 2011, President Obama asked the Department of the Interior (Department) to determine the acreage of public lands (onshore and offshore) that have been leased to oil and gas companies and remain undeveloped, noting that companies should be encouraged to produce energy from leases that they are holding.

In response to this request, the Department’s Office of Policy Analysis...

"The Company here involved engages in the production, gathering, processing and sale of natural gas. It does not engage in the interstate transmission of gas from the producing fields to consumer markets and is not affiliated with any company that does so, but it sells natural gas to five interstate pipeline companies which transport and resell the gas to consumers and local distributing companies from 14 states."

According to Pennsylvania State University, this law "[r]estricted construction of power plants fueled primarily by oil or natural gas and instead encouraged power plants fueled by coal, nuclear, and alternative fuels." The law also "[r]estricted use of oil and natural gas in industrial boilers."

"The Congress finds that the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare, the preservation of national security, and the proper exercise of congressional authority under the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce require" the following.

"This report, Renewable Energy Consumption and Electricity Preliminary Statistics 2010, presents preliminary information on renewable energy consumption and electricity generation and capacity for 2010. Final renewable energy consumption and electricity data will be included as a chapter in the Renewable Energy Annual 2010 scheduled to be released early in 2012.

A second radio address where Richard Nixon encourages Americans to make personal energy sacrifices. "In order to minimize disruptions in our economy, I asked on November 7 that all Americans adopt certain energy conservation measures to help meet the challenge of reduced energy supplies. These steps include reductions in home heating, reductions in driving speeds, elimination of unnecessary...

A nationally broadcast radio address where Richard Nixon spoke about the growing energy crisis.

"As America has grown and prospered in recent years, our energy demands have begun to exceed available supplies. In recent months, we have taken many actions to increase supplies and to reduce consumption. But even with our best efforts, we knew that a period of temporary shortages was...

Remarks wherein Richard Nixon addressed the growing energy crisis, saying, "We have heard a lot about a crisis. I do not use that term, because we do not face a crisis in that sense of the word. I would simply say that in the short term we face a problem, a problem with regard to energy--heating, for example, this winter, just as we thought we faced a problem of gasoline this summer, and the...

"President Nixon talks about several issues, including the energy situation and the Watergate investigation that recently came to the attention of the American public. Nixon calmly rejects the notions that he will be impeached or resign. He attempts to keep the conference focused on rising oil prices and shortages and indications that the country might spiral into a recession."

In a speech accepting his party's nomination to run for the presidency, Ronald Reagan described Jimmy Carter's approach to energy policy as "weak" and "based on the sharing of scarcity." Reagan went on to encourage innovation and less regulation in the American energy sector.

"The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 was intended to light the nation by supplying the infrastructure and funding to electrify isolated U.S. farms." The Act was amended in 2000 and can be found here.

"Senate Bill 2X would require private and public utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020, raising the target from the current 20%, while providing the flexibility necessary to meet the higher standard...

"The 19 1/2% tax imposed by § 3(b) of the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act (1937) on sales of such coal by producers, 'which would be subject to the application of the conditions and provisions of the code provided for in § 4, or of the provisions of § 4A,' applies to producers who are not members of the code, although under § 4, the provisions of the code are for code members only. …

"This act of May 18, 1933, created the Tennessee Valley Authority to oversee the construction of dams to control flooding, improve navigation, and create cheap electric power in the Tennessee Valley basin."

"Twenty one of the twenty-five states with the lowest electricity costs rely upon coal for forty percent or more of their electricity supply. It is no coincidence that these states also have the highest concentration of manufacturing. The deliberate and disruptive policies that have slowed and stopped coal mines from receiving permits to open or expand have consequences that reverberate...

"The Obama Administration and its allies have declared war on coal across all of Appalachia. We are ground zero for the fundamental overreach of the Obama regulatory agenda. They appear to be hell-bent on hurting those who work in the coal mining industry. The rural regions of Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania would be devastated from losing major...

"The EPA’s exercise of its putative 'veto' power to unilaterally revoke the § 404 'dredge and fill' permit issued to Mingo Logan Coal Company, for surface mining in Appalachia, three years after the fact, and after more than ten years of exhaustive environmental review, and without any change in circumstance or law, is emblematic of a growing trend among federal agencies to change the law for...

This testimony discusses the effect EPA closures of coal mines would have on the West Virginia economy and infrastructure. Roberts notes the number of workers that would lose their jobs, while also pointing out the negative residual effects these job losses would have on local businesses and tax revenue.

"This Act is the fundamental U.S. law on both the civilian and the military uses of nuclear materials. On the civilian side, it provides for both the development and the regulation of the uses of nuclear materials and facilities in the United States, declaring the policy that 'the development, use, and control of atomic energy shall be directed so as to promote...

"DAY by day it becomes more evident that the Coal we happily possess in excellent quality and abundance is the mainspring of modern material civilization. As the source of fire, it is the source at once of mechanical motion and of chemical change. Accordingly it is the chief agent in almost every improvement or discovery in the arts which the present age brings forth. It is to us indispensable...

"This pamphlet traces the history of our discoveries about atoms. We begin with the ideas of the Greek philosophers. Then we follow the path to the early scientists who discovered radioactivity. Finally, we reach modern-day use of atoms as a valuable source of energy."

"Norris Dam, the first-born child of the Tennessee Valley Authority, was attended by praises and curses as it came into the world.

The drama of the development of the Norris Dam project inspired films, books, theatrical productions, and songs. The songs excited, especially, a small, but increasing cadre of scholars and enthusiasts who loved American folk songs. To a 1930s folklorist,...

"The coal industry was a major foundation for American industrialization in the nineteenth century. As a fuel source, coal provided a cheap and efficient source of power for steam engines, furnaces, and forges across the United States."

Part 1 of the Energy Security Act of 1980, Pennsylvania State University declares that this act "[e]stablished the Synthetic Fuels Corporation (which only existed until 1985) for the purpose of partnering with industry for the creation of a market for domestically-produced synthetic liquid fuels; moved research and...

According to Pennsylvania State University, this document is part 2 of the Energy Security Act of 1980 and "[p]rovided loan guarantees for small-scale biomass energy projects; established the Office of Alcohol Fuels, the Office of Energy from Municipal Waste."

Pennsylvania State University describes this document as the third part of the Energy Security Act of 1980. This law "[r]equires the submission (by the President to Congress) of energy targets for net imports, domestic production, and end-use consumption of energy for 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000."

Part 4 of the Energy Security Act of 1980. "The purpose of this title is to establish incentives for the use of renewable energy resources, to improve and coordinate the dissemination of information to the public with respect to renewable energy resources, to encourage the use of certain cost effective solar energy systems and conservation measures by the Federal Government, to establish a...

Pennsylvania State University describes this document as "Title V of the 1980 Energy Security Act." It "encouraged energy conservation and the use of solar energy, reduc[ed] dependence on foreign energy supplies; established the Solar Energy and Energy Conservation Bank (repealed in 1992)."

Described as "Title VI of the 1980 Energy Security act," this document "authorized loans from the Geothermal Resources Development Fund for exploration and determination of economic viability of a geothermal reservoir ... [and] cancels [the] loan if reservoir is deemed unacceptable for development."

"There is hereby established a comprehensive ten-year program to carry out the provisions of this subtitle; and to implement this program there shall be formed an Acid Precipitation Task Force … of which the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall be joint chairmen."...

According to PSU, this law was part of the Energy Security Act of 1980 and "[e]stablishes that 500,000,000 barrels of crude oil must be in storage before any can be sold and calls for the reserve to increase its supply 100,000 barrels per day until the storage capacity is reached."

In the 2007 State of the Union address, President George Bush asked Congress and America to "join him in pursuing the goal of reducing U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next ten years - twenty in ten."

"I am pleased to be here today to participate in your hearing on the challenges and opportunities related to the potential development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources. As you know, fossil fuels are important to both the global and U.S. economies, and among other things, we rely on oil to fuel our transportation vehicles and on natural gas to a significant extent to heat and...

This treaty stipulated that the U.S. would borrow $24 million to Egypt for a specific energy project. According to the agreement, "The Project shall consist of the construction of a National Energy Control Center which will monitor, supervise and control the entire interconnected national electric power grid throughout Egypt. The purpose of the Project is to provide improved reliability and...

Analytical assessments of the water energy resources in the 20 hydrologic regions of the United States were performed using state-of-the-art digital elevation models and geographic information system tools. The principal focus of the study was on low head (less than 30 ft)/low power (less than 1 MW) resources in each region. The assessments were made by estimating the power potential of all...

"With so much attention focused on the recent spike in gasoline prices and OPEC's decision to increase production quotas, it is critical that we not lose sight of our nation's long-term energy needs. For seven years, my Administration has pursued a sound, comprehensive policy to address those needs. Regrettably, several key elements of this Administration's strategy have languished in Congress...

"As even George W. Bush acknowledged in his 2006 State of the Union, America is dangerously 'addicted to oil'. In Addicted to Oil, Ian Rutledge explores the political, economic and social ramifications of the motorization of the US economy and examines the ways in which America's dependence on the car has created oil needs which have heavily influenced US foreign policy. Rutledge argues that...

"Kunich, who has written previously on contemporary extinction and the lack of an adequate legal response, presents another demanding academic environmental title, one that combines philosophy with, of all things, gambling. Largely free of politics, except for a healthy discussion of the ramifications of 'Climategate,' he asks what we are willing to wager on the earth’s survival. This leads to...

"Global climate change is one of the most important issues humanity faces today. This book assesses the sensible, senseless and biased proposals for averting the potentially disastrous consequences of global warming, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions on switching to more sustainable energy provision."

"Electric cars are real—see the Tesla Roadster, Chevy Volt, and hybrids like the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius—but the drive to create safe, lightweight, and long-lasting batteries to power them has been anything but smooth. Faced with political, technological, and management obstacles, battery technology still lags. In the mid-1800s Fletcher says, clean, cheap lead...

"In a world confronting global climate change, political turmoil among oil exporting nations, nuclear weapons proliferation, nuclear plant safety and waste disposal issues, the United States must assume a leadership role in moving to a zero-CO2 emissions energy economy. This is one of the most important issues that the scientific community is trying to work...

"The Concise Encyclopedia of the History of Energy draws together in a single volume a comprehensive account of the field from the prestigious and award-winning Encyclopedia of Energy (2004). This volume covers all aspects of energy history with authoritative articles authoritatively contributed and edited by an interdisciplinary team of experts. Extensively revised since the original...

"This book examines how various large systems - including water power (mills and canals), steam power (railroads, steamboats, factories), electricity (motors, flexible lighting, the assembly line), the internal-combustion engine (automobiles, tractors, trucks), atomic power, and computerization - acquired and then lost technological momentum, beginning early in the early nineteenth century."...

"The National Academy Press, based in Washington, D.C., presents the full text of a book entitled 'Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards,' authored by the Transportation Research Board and originally published in 2001. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program requires automobile manufacturers to increase the sales-weighted average fuel economy of...

"In the political economy of energy, World War II was a significant watershed: It accelerated the transition from dependence on coal to petroleum and natural gas. At the same time, mobilization provided an unprecedented experience in the management of energy markets by a forced partnership of business and government. Vietor covers American policy from 1945 to 1980...

"In an effort to provide greater awareness of the necessary policy decisions facing our elected and appointed officials, Energy Policy in the U.S.: Politics, Challenges, and Prospects for Change presents an overview of important energy policies and the policy process in the United States, including their history, goals, methods of action, and consequences.

"Pictures of oil as the glittering prize, the source of global power and empires, or the hub of an energy crisis have gushed through the media since 1973. What actually happened was very different. M. A. Adelman had written in 1970 that 'the genie is out of the bottle,' that a group of oil producing countries would control the oil trade to raise prices. Now, twenty...

"The promise and peril of nuclear power have been a preoccupation of the modern age. Though the nuclear industry has witnessed periods of expansion and retrenchment, there are now more than one hundred nuclear reactors providing America with almost a quarter of its electrical power.

"The objective of this book is to review and to analyze the economics of conservation programs in theory and in practice. Demand side management (DSM) is one of the most topical issues in regulating electric utilities, both in the United States and internationally. DSM consists of various measures at the level of demand (households, commerce, industry, others), which are at least partially...

"M. A. Adelman is one of the preeminent authorities on the economics of mineral resources. This book brings together his work, written over the past thirty years, on mineral depletion and the nature of monopoly in world oil. Organized into three groups, the twenty-seven papers cover theory and measurement of mineral scarcity and depletion, analysis of the OPEC...

"Six decades of efforts by federal agencies to regulate the natural gas industry in the U. S. have failed, says the author of this important book. Paul MacAvoy shows that no one has gained from public control of the natural gas industry, and he argues that all participants would gain from complete deregulation. For regulated and about-to-be-regulated industries, the costly history of gas...

"In a year that saw both the formal end to the Vietnam War and the unfolding of the Watergate scandal, the oil crisis of 1973-1974 dealt a critical blow to the American psyche. After decades of wealth and prosperity, stagflation and gas shortages hit Americans in their own pockets. They faced hard questions about a national culture of consumption that had ravaged...

"The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. Within the next few years, global production will peak. Thereafter, even if industrial societies begin to switch to alternative energy sources, they will have less net energy each year to do all the work essential to the survival of complex societies. We are entering a new era, as different from the industrial era as the...

Before plunging into the specifics and key offenders of modern crony capitalism, we need to ask: How is this possible, and why does our system of laws allow all this to happen? As you will see, the answer isn't simply a matter of overlooked corruption.

This FAQ examines the primary types of renewable energy available to us today, some instances of both failed and successful renewable energy companies, and what the future might have in store for this sector of America's energy industry.

Solar energy has been at the forefront of the alternative energy discussion for decades. At times, solar power has shown more potential than any other renewable energy source. In other instances, the technology has failed miserably. The most fundamental obstacle is finding a way to lower its cost. Currently, solar power is simply not able to provide our homes with affordable energy. Government...

"The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 400 corporate members, from the largest major oil company to the smallest of independents, come from all segments of the industry. They are producers, refiners, suppliers, pipeline operators and marine transporters, as well as...

"The Center works in coalition with other think-tanks and businesses to change the energy security future for America, through development of new technologies and infrastructure, changed policies to reduce dependence on foreign and adversarial suppliers, and new initiatives to develop U.S. resources."

"DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the N.C. Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council."

"The Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc. (EPRINC), formerly PIRINC was incorporated in 1944 and is a not-for-profit organization that studies energy economics with special emphasis on oil. It is known internationally for providing objective analysis of energy issues."

"The annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) is now the world's most authoritative source of energy market analysis and projections, providing critical analytical insights into trends in energy demand and supply and what they mean for energy security, environmental protection and economic development.

The WEO projections are used by the public and private sector as a framework on which they...

"The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the...

"The IAEA is the world's center of cooperation in the nuclear field. It was set up as the world´s 'Atoms for Peace' organization in 1957 within the United Nations family. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies."

"MasterResource is a blog dedicated to analysis and commentary about energy markets and public policy.

Precisely because energy is the lifeblood of the modern economy – the 'master resource' that affects the production and use of all other resources – energy markets are often thought of as 'different' and thus deserving of special political direction. We believe that the economic rules...

"The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development (R&D).

NREL's mission and strategy are focused on advancing the U.S. Department of Energy's and our nation's energy goals. The laboratory's scientists and researchers support critical market objectives to accelerate research from...

"Naturalgas.org is presented as an educational website covering a variety of topics related to the natural gas industry. The purpose of this website is to provide visitors with a comprehensive information source for topics related to natural gas, and present an unbiased learning tool for students, teachers, industry, media, and government. This site has been developed and is maintained by the...

"The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local...

"Demand is increasing faster than supplies while much of the world’s oil is delivered in a restrictive market dominated by unstable or hostile nations. Meanwhile, many Americans harbor misunderstandings and myths about energy, the environment, and market forces. They want low prices and plentiful supply, but resist steps that must be taken to achieve these goals. They want to protect the...

"How are climate change, scarcer resources, population growth and other challenges reshaping society? From science to business to politics to living, our reporters track the high-stakes pursuit of a greener globe in a dialogue with experts and readers."

"The mission of the Department of Energy is to ensure America's security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions."

"Today, the NRC's regulatory activities are focused on reactor safety oversight and reactor license renewal of existing plants, materials safety oversight and materials licensing for a variety of purposes, and waste management of both high-level waste and low-level waste. In addition, the NRC is preparing to evaluate new applications for nuclear plants."

"The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment."

We all know Facebook is awesome for keeping up with friends, sharing about your life, and even distributing ideas. One great new way to get people thinking is to take advantage of the new banner profile with the help of Intellectual Takeout. Here's what one of our banners looks like loaded up on a Facebook profile:
If you haven't changed your banner profile, than Facebook is likely ...

To: The President and the Congress of the United States of America
Whereas: Congress, the Department of the Treasury, and the Executive Branch have increased the United States’ national debt to over $14 trillion by 2011.
Whereas: The national debt doubled in less than ten years and is expected to double again in the next ten years.
Whereas: Each American’s share of the national debt is $45,684,...

At Intellectual Takeout, we think it's about time freedom went viral.
Before our generation is the opportunity to embrace freedom, to unleash each individual's potential, and to have a prosperous future. And yet it seems that almost everyone running our cities, states, and federal government is intent on destroying freedom and burying us in debt to pay for it.
If you, like us, believe that...

While it may seem like a distant problem, the reality is that until each one of us makes the debt an issue, the folks in D.C. aren’t going to deal with it. The only way they will deal with the debt is if the American people make it an issue.
And that’s why it’s critical that you spread the word about how serious dealing with the debt is for your future, your friends’ futures, your family’...

Okay, so your friends and family keep telling you to jump
on the social media bandwagon, but you have no idea what the fuzz is about.
Here’s the deal: The Internet gives liberty-loving folk like
us an opportunity we have never had before: to make the case for individual
liberty, limited government and free market economics instantly and globally.
But with the vast amounts of information...

Curiously, not a few individuals are realizing that their education (K-12 and even college) neglected to provide them with as much understanding of the world as they would like. At Intellectual Takeout, we believe that however you feel about your education, there is still much to be learned. To that end, we'd like to refer you to one book and a collection of "study guides" that serve as...

Are you concerned your child isn't getting the education necessary to compete in the global economy or even, perhaps, to carry on the lessons and learning of Western Civilization? If so, you have a number of choices. You could, of course, consider changing schools to a charter school, private school, or even homeschooling. If that's overwhelming for you right now, you can always supplement your...

Sure, the idea of homeschooling is likely overwhelming. Indeed, homeschooling is a big commitment and a lot of work. That said, there's a reason why more and more parents are turning to homeschooling as the best option for their child(ren)'s education(s).
Perhaps you are starting to realize that the public school system has changed a lot since you last attended it. Maybe you can't afford private...

Looking for an internship? If so, Intellectual Takeout has an opportunity for you.
We have plenty of work to do as well as ideas to spread, and we need your help to get it done.
If you're interested in an internship with Intellectual Takeout, you likely share our passion and you're excited about the possibility of working for a great cause. That said, you might have a few questions about what "...

Let's face it, most of us love to watch TV and movies. A wonderful way to spread ideas is to embrace our love of the cinema by hosting a movie night with friends and family.
There are numerous documentaries that do a fantastic job of sharing the ideas of liberty. You can pull a small group of friends together at your house or even consider asking a local restaurant or tavern to let you...

How often do you hear conservatives being called a bunch of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals?
Here's the reality: Conservatism, classical liberalism, and libertarianism have a rich, intellectual heritage reaching back many millennia. Our ideas are not just some historical relics from bygone eras; they are the very foundation of Western Civilization in general, amd the United States in particular....

Sadly (or happily for some), life goes on after college. So does the fight for freedom.
Building friendships, networking, and growing the movement is critical after college. If our ideas are to be preserved and promoted, you need to stay involved. Plus, in a time when the individual seems to be ever more isolated and adrift, these groups can help plug you into social networks you can use....

Okay, so we don't expect you to drive a wooden stake into your flat screen. Plus, we're total hypocrites since we watch some TV. But here's the point: People waste a ton of time watching TV. If you're cool with government taking over your future, than keep watching Dancing with the Stars. If you consider yourself to be a free man or woman and want to live in a free society, then watch what you...

A great way to make a difference on your campus by spreading the ideas of individual rights, limited government, and free markets is to tutor. Plus, you can occasionally make a little bit of money.
Depending on the subject matter, you will be discussing a variety of ideas, key thinkers, and theories. As anyone who has tutored knows, there are almost always opportunities to expand upon a topic....

The Association of American Educators (AAE) advances the teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection, as well as promoting excellence in education so that our members receive the respect, recognition and reward they deserve.

We've built Intellectual Takeout to provide you with quick, easy access to information. In time, we hope to become your one-stop-shop for the ideas of freedom.
If your professor allows you to bring your laptop to class (if not, you can use an iPhone), we recommend keeping a tab open to Intellectual Takeout.
As we continue to generate new content on the site, you will be able to fact check the...

When it comes to campus life injustices, student fees rank high on any list. On most campuses across the country a mandatory student fee is assessed to each student at the beginning of the year. A portion of this fee, which may be several hundred dollars, will go toward funding various political, religious, and interest groups.
A college requiring you to support groups espousing ideas which...

If
you're not happy with the direction of the country and you want to take
back your future, at some point you will have to do something. It's not
enough to just know that we're going in the wrong direction. You
actually have to step out and get involved.
Most college campuses have conservative and libertarian student
groups. Find one of them to join.
Below is a list of some of the larger non-...

Now that you're at college and the initial excitement has worn off, maybe you're thinking that the course selection is a bit biased and you'd like some options.
So how do you (the consumer) get the college (the business) to change up its offerings? It certainly won't be easy. Nevertheless it's something that should be done--particularly since you're footing the bill.
A good, education in a free...

Whatever activism you choose to do on campus, you need to get your story out. A popular tactic used by the Left is to isolate and intimidate freedom-loving students. You're not alone and there are a lot of people in your city, state, and country that can probably support your efforts. They just need to know what is happening.
Whenever you can, record in-class bias, discrimination against...

The reality is that most students (and people for that matter) won't speak out. It's called human nature and it was recognized in the Declaration of Independence: "...all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer,
while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the
forms to which they are accustomed."
While you might feel alone when debating a teacher,...

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, speech codes are a particularly odious example of politically correct repression on many a college campus. In some ways, college campuses are the least free places for thinking and speech in America.
Your best friend for fighting your school's repressive speech codes is the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Here's a short clip...

Running for office isn't easy, even in college. Not everyone is cut
out for it, either. For those of you who are, this completely non-partisan section is for you.
If you are inclined to pursue student government,
we're not going to spend time on telling you how to get elected. A good
place to go for ideas and training is CampusReform.org. Rather, we want to help you in office, as a believer in...